HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

“CHAMPIONS AWARD”

1989 & 1995 Missouri State Football Champions

1989 – “Against the Odds”

When the horn sounded ending the last game of the season, the Spartans had accumulated a perfect record of 14-0 and were crowned Missouri Class 5A football champions. The team earned the title on Nov. 25 by defeating Kansas City Rockhurst, 28-14, in the annual Show-Me Bowl on Faurot Field at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Along with the enormous local respect came national attention. At season’s end, the team was ranked eighth in the nation by a USA Today poll. In addition, 23 squad members were named to the Suburban North All-Conference team, 10 to the All-District squad, six to All-Metro, and six to the All­-State team.

This combination of talent and teamwork gave the Spartans an advantage that was apparent on Nov. 9 in East’s first playoff game against CBC. The Spartans were unstoppable, crushing the Cadets, 53-7. With momentum high, East went on to its first state football final in its 16-year history by defeating Pattonville, 47-14, and Lafayette, 33-18, along the way.

A bonus that came with the 1989 season was having Coach Rick members Gorzynski named Coach of the Year.

1995 – “A Pocket Full of Miracles”

In 1995, the giant of the varsity gridiron measured 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighed in at 175 pounds and, still, rewrote the record books. Senior running back Ricardo Rhodes, who became the Post-Dispatch Player of the Year, made so many “Rhodes” into the end zone that it seemed to be almost his permanent home.

All Rhodes did in 1995 was set the area’s all­-time touchdown record of 48 while rushing for 1,808 yards for the season. Oh, and he set a Class 5A record by rushing for 231 yards in the state championship game.

When the newspaper photographed him as Player of the Year, Ricardo insisted that his linemen be included because he said he could not have done it without them.

This 1995 season was intense, but there may not have been a game as intense as the Hazelwood East-Hazelwood Central annual Suburban North Conference match-up. That year’s event drew a crowd of nearly 9,000, and the Spartan fans weren’t disappointed as the Spartans crushed the Hawks, 41-14.

The 1995 Spartans finished the season with a perfect 14-0 record. On the road to the state championship, they defeated Hazelwood Central again on a “Hail Mary” pass as the horn sounded.

Hazelwood East defeated Blue Springs South, 42-3, to win the championship. USA Today ranked them second in the country.